14.72 | Fall 2013 | Undergraduate

Capitalism and Its Critics

Course Description

This course addresses the evolution of the modern capitalist economy and evaluates its current structure and performance. Various paradigms of economics are contrasted and compared (neoclassical, Marxist, socioeconomic, and neocorporate) in order to understand how modern capitalism has been shaped and how it functions …
This course addresses the evolution of the modern capitalist economy and evaluates its current structure and performance. Various paradigms of economics are contrasted and compared (neoclassical, Marxist, socioeconomic, and neocorporate) in order to understand how modern capitalism has been shaped and how it functions in today’s economy. The course stresses general analytic reasoning and problem formulation rather than specific analytic techniques. Readings include classics in economic thought as well as contemporary analyses.
Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments
A huge bust of a bearded man sits in front of a multi-floored building.
The Karl Marx Monument in Chemnitz, Germany, with the phrase “Workers of the world, Unite!” (from The Communist Manifesto) written in four languages on the wall behind it. (This image is in the public domain. Source: Zairon.)